Stalker held for attacking Delhi woman, had assaulted her earlier this year

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, and officials said she was in a stable condition.

A 21-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly stalking his 30-year-old woman neighbour and attacking her with a shaving blade with an intent to kill, in north Delhi’s Timarpur on Tuesday. After attacking her with the blade, he allegedly fled with her cellphone so that she could not inform the police about his crime, senior police officers said on Thursday.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was administered medical attention. (Picture for representation only)

The man, who was arrested on Wednesday, was allegedly angry with the woman as for the past few months, she was ignoring his requests to continue their “friendship”. He had allegedly assaulted her in April as well but the woman had not filed any complaint at that time, deputy commissioner of police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.

Kalsi said the woman was returning home after dropping her two children to a private tuition centre in an area falling under the jurisdiction of Timarpur police station.

A man named Sushil alias Ponta, who lives in the woman’s neighbourhood and had cordial relations with her family, met her on the way. He stopped her and forcibly asked her to sit on his motorcycle, said the DCP, quoting the woman’s statement.

“The woman told us that since Sushil had been stalking her since long and had also injured her in April, she did not resist this time and accompanied him out of fear. Sushil took her to a secluded place and slashed her neck with the shaving blade. As she screamed for help, some passersby rushed to her aid while Sushil snatched her cellphone and fled,” said Kalsi.

The woman was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was administered medical attention. After her condition was deemed stable, the police recorded her statement in which she identified her attacker and alleged that he had been threatening and stalking her for the past few months.

Accordingly, a case of attempt to murder, theft, stalking and criminal intimidation was registered under Indian Penal Code’s Sections 307, 379, 354D and 506.

Several teams were formed and tasked to nab the suspect. Through local intelligence and technical investigation, investigators located Sushil’s hideout in Timarpur and arrested him on Wednesday. The shaving blade and the bike that he used in the crime were recovered along with the woman’s phone.

“Sushil told us that he was angry because the woman had been ignoring him. In April 2021, he had attacked her with a blade but that made no difference to her approach towards him. Her constant refusal for continue their friendship made him desperate and out of frustration, he assaulted her again on Tuesday with an intent to kill her,” said an investigator.

This is the second incident to be reported in the capital within a week. On November 3, a 23-year-old was left critically injured and fighting for her life after her 26-year-old neighbour allegedly tied her up and threw acid on her at his house in outer Delhi’s Bawana. Police said the suspect, identified as Montu, was allegedly stalking her and pestering her for marriage, even though she was already married and living with her husband. He fled to his home town in Bihar’s Buxar after assaulting the woman and he was arrested on November 6. Montu disclosed that he had planned to shoot dead the woman, if her husband proved a hurdle between them.

Delhi Police statistics show that the city has witnessed a 21% increase in cases of rape and molestation till October 31 this year when compared to last year’s figures during the same period.

A total of 1,725 cases of rape and 2,157 molestations were reported between January 1 and October 31 this year, while in 2020, 1,429 rape and 1,791 molestation cases were registered during the same period, the police data shows.